Keeping Our Eyes on His Goals
Philippians 3:13-15 

Have you ever attempted to walk in a straight line while looking at your feet? Try this on the beach sometime so you can look back at your footprints. You’ll probably be surprised at how crooked the path is. But fix your eyes upon something faraway, and each step will point in the desired direction—toward that distant focal point.

Our lives are like this. If we set goals, then our decisions, actions, and thoughts will lead to the desired end. On the other hand, if we bumble along in life without specific aims, we will wander and waste much precious time and energy.

Goals are crucial to the well-lived life. Why, then, do so many people fail to formulate purposeful aims? Some simply do not see their importance, while others are too lazy to devise a plan or don’t know how to go about it. And then, there are individuals who lack faith in God’s ability to help them achieve their aspirations.

Think about the many goals Jesus had—they drove everything He did. In fact, His life centered around a primary purpose that was set even before time began: to lay down His life on the cross in order to save mankind from sin and glorify the Father. Jesus also had daily aims, such as teaching those who sought righteousness and serving others.

Imagine the impact our lives could have if we asked God to guide our goals. Ask Him today, “What do You want to change about my life? What do You want to accomplish through me? On what and on whom should I focus?” You were created to glorify the Lord and to be fruitful in His service

Renew Your Strength Through God   –   Let the peoples renew their strength.

Isaiah 41:1

All things on earth need to be renewed. No created thing continues by itself. “You renew the face of the ground,”1 was the psalmist’s utterance.

Even the trees, which wear not themselves with care, nor shorten their lives with labor, must drink of the rain of heaven and draw from the hidden treasures of the soil. The cedars of Lebanon, which God has planted, only live because day by day they are full of sap freshly drawn from the earth. Neither can man’s life be sustained without renewal from God. As it is necessary to repair the body by the frequent meal, so we must repair the soul by feeding upon the Book of God, or by listening to the preached Word, or by the soul-fattening table of the ordinances.

How depressed are our graces when means are neglected! What poor starving souls they are who live without the diligent use of the Word of God and secret prayer! If our piety can live without God it is not of divine creating; it is but a dream; for if God had begotten it, it would wait upon Him as the flowers wait upon the dew.

Without constant restoration we are not ready for the perpetual assaults of hell, or the stern afflictions of heaven, or even for the strife within. When the whirlwind shall be loosed, woe to the tree that has not sucked up fresh sap and grasped the rock with many inter-twisted roots.

When tempests arise, woe to the mariners that have not strengthened their mast, nor cast their anchor, nor sought the haven. If we suffer the good to grow weaker, the evil will surely gather strength and struggle desperately for the mastery over us; and as a result a painful desolation and a lamentable disgrace may follow. Let us draw near to the footstool of divine mercy in humble entreaty, and we shall realize the fulfillment of the promise, “They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength.”2

1 Psalm 104:30

2 Isaiah 40:31

The family reading plan for January 2, 2012

Ezra 2 | Acts 2

Simeon, Symeon [Sĭm’eon]—hearing, hears and obeys or hearing with acceptance.

1.The second son of Jacob by Leah ( Gen. 29:33 ).

The Man Who Was Self-Willed

It is not easy to deal with Simeon alone, since he is always associated with his

brother, Levi. “Simeon and Levi are brethren” ( Gen. 49:5 ). Of Simeon’s personal history we know little. His name implies

hearing with obedience, but Simeon was deaf in the day he should have heard, and

disobedient and irresponsive when his lot hung in balance.

The first thing recorded about Simeon is that with Levi his brother, he drew the

sword in treachery against the Shechemites and slew all the males. When rebuked

by their father, they upheld indignantly their right to act as they did. Both

acted “in their selfwill” ( Gen. 49:6 ), which means they took malicious delight in their gross crime.

Simeon next appears in the story of Joseph, who felt it would be better to

retain Simeon until Benjamin had been brought to the palace. Joseph felt with

his father Jacob that Simeon and Levi would be best apart. In fact, Simeon had

no blessing while joined with Levi and no prosperity while he was with Reuben.

When separated, Simeon, at first, did not multiply ( 1 Chron. 4:24-27 ). During the forty years in the wilderness the decrease of

Simeon was remarkable. Because of the idolatry of the tribe, thousands were

slain.

In the land of Canaan, Simeon joined with Judah, and this association marked a

turning point in the history of the tribe. Judah and Simeon went up together to

Canaan ( Judg. 1:1-3 ). Simeon means “obedient hearing,” and Judah, “praise.” The

absorption of Simeon into the inheritance of Judah gave Simeon a place and work

in Israel. In the final division of the land, foretold by Ezekiel, between

Benjamin and Issachar, there is a portion for Simeon.

Over the gate to the Golden City, Simeon’s name is inscribed—“Of the tribe of

Simeon were sealed 12,000”—a way for even Simeon to enter the city of God above.

From the time the Simeonites became aware of what God had done for them there

was no more curse and no more captivity for them. Hitherto instruments of

cruelty, they became instruments of warfare against the enemies of the Lord,

ultimately earning the right to be included among the number eternally sealed ( Rev. 7:7 ).

Self-will fittingly describes Simeon’s career until he was separated from Levi.

God hates self-will for He knows how it accounts for uncontrolled passions, and

the failure to respond to higher appeals. Because of their self-will God, in His

governmental dealings, scattered and impoverished the Simeonites. May we not

come nigh their dwelling but ever seek to learn, prove and obey “that good and

acceptable and perfect will of God.”

 

2.A just and devout man in Jerusalem who awaited the coming of Jesus, the

Messiah ( Luke 2:25-34 ).

The Man Who Died Satisfied

The adoration and prophecy of Simeon, who waited for the consolation of Israel

and blessed the Consoler when He appeared, is rich in spiritual suggestion. This

spectator of the most significant birth of all history, endued with a prophetic

spirit, kept the lamp of prophecy burning when religion was at a low ebb in

Israel. Simeon means “one who hears and obeys” and this saintly Simeon knew the

voice speaking in the prophets of old, and obeyed the light he saw. Coming into

the Temple, he took the Babe in his arms and blessed God. What a wonderful

benediction his was!

At last faith had been justified and Simeon could die without fear. Have our

eyes seen the salvation of the Lord? Can we die in peace? In his swan song,

Simeon was not ashamed to declare that the One born in the city of David was the

Saviour of the world. This was more than the letter-learned scribes of his times

had discerned. These were the men who looked upon Christ as a sign to be spoken

against and to whom He would become a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.

With godly Simeon it was different, for he was Spirit-taught and knew that

Mary’s Child was the One through whom the world was to be blessed. As he eagerly

anticipated Christ’s first advent, are we found patiently awaiting His second

advent? When He does appear and we see Him as He is, ours will be the thrill

Simeon experienced as He gazed upon the Lord’s Christ.

 

3.An ancestor of Jesus ( Luke 3:30 ).

 

4.A disciple and prophet at Antioch, surnamed Niger ( Acts 13:1 ).

 

5.The original name of a son of Jonas, or John, and brother of Andrew an apostle

of Christ. See SIMON  ( Acts 15:14 ).

 

January 01

Morning

“They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.”

Joshua 5:12

Israel’s weary wanderings were all over, and the promised rest was attained. No

more moving tents, fiery serpents, fierce Amalekites, and howling wildernesses:

they came to the land which flowed with milk and honey, and they ate the old

corn of the land. Perhaps this year, beloved Christian reader, this may be thy

case or mine. Joyful is the prospect, and if faith be in active exercise, it

will yield unalloyed delight. To be with Jesus in the rest which remaineth for

the people of God, is a cheering hope indeed, and to expect this glory so soon

is a double bliss. Unbelief shudders at the Jordan which still rolls between us

and the goodly land, but let us rest assured that we have already

experienced more ills than death at its worst can cause us. Let us banish every

fearful thought, and rejoice with exceeding great joy, in the prospect that this

year we shall begin to be “forever with the Lord.”

 

A part of the host will this year tarry on earth, to do service for their Lord.

If this should fall to our lot, there is no reason why the New Year’s text

should not still be true. “We who have believed do enter into rest.” The Holy

Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance; he gives us “glory begun below.” In

heaven they are secure, and so are we preserved in Christ Jesus; there they

triumph over their enemies, and we have victories too. Celestial spirits enjoy

communion with their Lord, and this is not denied to us; they rest in his love,

and we have perfect peace in him: they hymn his praise, and it is our privilege

to bless him too. We will this year gather celestial fruits on earthly

ground, where faith and hope have made the desert like the garden of the Lord.

Man did eat angels’ food of old, and why not now? O for grace to feed on Jesus,

and so to eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan this year!

 

Evening

“We will be glad and rejoice in thee.”

Song of Solomon 1:4

We will be glad and rejoice in thee. We will not open the gates of the year to

the dolorous notes of the sackbut, but to the sweet strains of the harp of joy,

and the high sounding cymbals of gladness. “O come, let us sing unto the Lord:

let us make a joyful noise unto the rock of our salvation.” We, the called and

faithful and chosen, we will drive away our griefs, and set up our banners of

confidence in the name of God. Let others lament over their troubles, we who

have the sweetening tree to cast into Marah’s bitter pool, with joy will magnify

the Lord. Eternal Spirit, our effectual Comforter, we who are the temples in

which thou dwellest, will never cease from adoring and blessing the

name of Jesus. We will, we are resolved about it, Jesus must have the crown of

our heart’s delight; we will not dishonour our Bridegroom by mourning in his

presence. We are ordained to be the minstrels of the skies, let us rehearse our

everlasting anthem before we sing it in the halls of the New Jerusalem. We will

be glad and rejoice: two words with one sense, double joy, blessedness upon

blessedness. Need there be any limit to our rejoicing in the Lord even now? Do

not men of grace find their Lord to be camphire and spikenard, calamus and

cinnamon even now, and what better fragrance have they in heaven itself? We will

be glad and rejoice in Thee. That last word is the meat in the dish,

the kernel of the nut, the soul of the text. What heavens are laid up in Jesus!

What rivers of infinite bliss have their source, aye, and every drop of their

fulness in him! Since, O sweet Lord Jesus, thou art the present portion of thy

people, favour us this year with such a sense of thy preciousness, that from its

first to its last day we may be glad and rejoice in thee. Let January open with

joy in the Lord, and December close with gladness in Jesus.

What Does It Mean to Follow Jesus?
Matthew 4:18-25 

When Jesus called His disciples, they immediately dropped everything and followed Him. We might think, The Christian life must have been simpler for them than for us. When Jesus started walking, they fell in line behind Him. As He taught, they heard His voice. By watching His interactions with people, they learned from His example. But how are we to follow Jesus, since He’s no longer on earth? We can’t touch, see, or hear Him the way they could.

When Christ was about to leave this earth, He promised His disciples that He would send them a Helper who would never leave them. In fact, this Helper would actually live within them (John 14:16-17). Today we follow Jesus by hearing and heeding His indwelling Holy Spirit—that’s the closest guidance we can ever have.

The Spirit does for us all the things Christ did for His disciples. He guides us each step of the way and teaches us the truths of God. But His work actually goes beyond that. The Holy Spirit transforms us from the inside out and enables us to serve and obey the Lord. He helps us discover God’s will for our lives and then give us the desire and strength to follow the path He’s planned for us. All we have to do is follow.

An essential requirement for following Jesus is sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s voice. The more yielded you are to His guidance as He speaks to you through God’s Word and during prayer, the greater your spiritual hearing will become. Hearing Him is the only way you’ll ever progress in your Christian life

Wonder of Wonders – On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.’

John 7:37

Patience had her perfect work in the Lord Jesus, and until the last day of the feast He pleaded with the Jews, even as on this last day of the year He pleads with us and waits to be gracious to us. The long-suffering of the Savior is truly admirable as He bears with some of us year after year despite our insults, rebellions, and resistance to His Holy Spirit. Wonder of wonders that we are still in the land of mercy!

Mercy expressed herself most plainly, for Jesus “cried,” which implies not only the loudness of His voice, but the tenderness of His tones. He entreats us to be reconciled. “God making his appeal through us,” says the apostle, “we implore you on behalf of

Christ . . .” What earnest, pathetic terms are these! How deep the Father’s love that causes Him to weep over sinners and, like a mother, to tenderly call His children to Himself! Surely at the sound of such a cry our willing hearts will come.

Provision is made most generously: Everything that man needs to quench his soul’s thirst is available. To his conscience the Atonement brings peace; to his understanding the Gospel brings the richest instruction; to his heart the person of Jesus is the noblest object of affection; to the whole man the truth as it is in Jesus supplies the purest nourishment. Thirst is terrible, but Jesus can remove it. Even if the soul were utterly famished, Jesus can restore it.

Proclamation is made most freely, that every thirsty one is welcome. No other distinction is made but that of thirst. Whether it be the thirst of greed, ambition, pleasure, knowledge, or rest, he who suffers from it is invited. The thirst may be bad in itself, and not be a sign of grace, but a mark of inordinate sin that longs to satisfy itself with deeper lust; but it is not goodness in the creature that brings him the invitation-the Lord Jesus sends it freely and without respect of persons.

Personality is declared most fully. The sinner must come to Jesus-not to works, ordinances, or doctrines but to a personal Redeemer who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree. The bleeding, dying, rising Savior is the only ray of hope to a sinner. Oh, for grace to come now and drink, before the sun sets upon the year’s last day!

No waiting or preparation is even hinted at. Drinking represents a reception that has no special requirements. A fool, a thief, a harlot can drink; our sinfulness is no barrier to the invitation to believe in Jesus. We need no golden cup, no fine china, in which to convey the water to the thirsty; the mouth of poverty is welcome to stoop down and drink of the life-giving stream. Blistered, leprous, filthy lips may touch the stream of divine love; they cannot pollute it but will themselves be purified. Jesus is the fount of hope. Dear reader, listen to the dear Redeemer’s loving voice as He cries to each of us, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”

The family reading plan for December 31, 2011

2 Chronicles 36 | Revelation 22

The Cost of Discipleship
Matthew 10:24-42 

Salvation is a free gift of God that comes to us through faith in His Son. Jesus did everything necessary to accomplish our forgiveness and reconciliation with the Father. We can add nothing to this transaction; our job is simply to believe.

But from that point on, each one of us must make a choice: Will we follow Jesus or just coast along doing what we want? If you limit your Christianity to merely sitting in a pew on Sunday mornings, you’ll miss the greatest adventure of your life. Being a disciple of Christ requires that we be actively engaged in our relationship with Him and in service to others.

Jesus never painted a rosy picture when He called people to follow Him. He stated quite plainly that becoming His follower would require self-denial, sacrifice, and suffering. With this kind of job description, it’s no wonder so many believers have tried to make Christianity a spectator sport. Following Jesus means that He directs our lives—that’s what dying to self is all about. We give up our rights to do what we want, and instead submit to His will, even if it’s difficult or doesn’t agree with our preference. If you don’t realize how good, loving, and wise our God is, walking in His will may seem scary or even foolish.

Those who deny themselves to follow Christ discover they lose nothing and gain everything. Even amidst pain and suffering, He gives His disciples inner peace and joy that transcend circumstances. Are you following Jesus or yourself? Your lifestyle, words, and attitudes reveal who truly rules your life

Anticipate the End  –  Better is the end of a thing than its beginning.

Ecclesiastes 7:8

Look at David’s Lord and Master; consider His beginning. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Then look at the end! He sits at His Father’s right hand, waiting until His enemies are made his footstool. “As he is so we are also in this world.”1 You must bear the cross or you will never wear the crown; you must wade through the water or you will never walk the golden pavement.

Cheer up, then, poor Christian. “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning.” View the creeping worm-how contemptible its appearance! It is the beginning of a thing. Mark that insect with gorgeous wings, playing in the sunbeams, sipping at the flowers, full of happiness and life-that is the worm’s end. You are that caterpillar, wrapped up in the chrysalis of death; but when Christ appears, you will be like Him, for you will see Him as He is.

Be content to be like Him, a worm and no man, so that like Him you may be satisfied when you wake up in His likeness. The rough-looking diamond is put upon the wheel of the gem-smith. He cuts it on all sides. It loses much-much that seemed costly to itself. The king is crowned; the diadem is put upon the monarch’s head accompanied by the trumpet’s joyful sound. A glittering ray flashes from that coronet, and it beams from that same diamond that was so recently fashioned at the wheel.

You may venture to compare yourself to such a diamond, for you are one of God’s people; and this is the time of the cutting process. Let faith and patience have their perfect work, for in the day when the crown is set upon the head of the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, one ray of glory shall stream from you. “They shall be mine, says the LORD of Hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession.”2 “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning.”

1 1 John 4:17 2 Malachi 3:17

The family reading plan for December 30, 2011

2 Chronicles 35 | Revelation 21

Why Do People Follow Jesus?
John 6:22-71 

When Jesus walked this earth, a vast multitude followed Him. They came for all sorts of reasons—some noble, some selfish. The same is true today. It’s important that we understand what motivates people to come to Christ, because not all who seek Him are really His followers. In fact, we each need to analyze our own walk with the Lord: What do we want from Him? How committed are we to being His disciples?

Many of the people who followed Jesus did so because they had urgent needs that He alone could meet. Everywhere He went, the sick and demon-possessed were brought to Him—this is one of the ways that God draws us to Himself. Those who can solve all their own problems never need a Savior.

Other folks came for sensationalism. They wanted to see the signs and miracles and feel a thrill of excitement. Today some people come to church or conferences to get pumped up, but mountaintop experiences are always followed by valleys. When hardships or challenges come, such people are quick to abandon the Lord.

But Jesus’ disciples followed Him because they genuinely believed He was the Messiah, the very Son of God (Matt. 16:16). Their commitment went beyond emotions or needs. They wanted to know Christ and walk closely with Him.

Are you more interested in what Jesus can do for you than in just being with Him? Do you find it hard to stay committed without an emotional experience to sustain you? Our physical and emotional needs can draw us to the Lord, but they should never be the foundation for our walk with Him

The Lord Has Helped Us   –   Till now the Lord has helped us.

1 Samuel 7:12

The phrase “till now” is like a hand pointing in the direction of the past. Twenty years or seventy, and still “till now the LORD has helped us.” Through poverty, through wealth, through sickness, through health, at home, abroad, on the land, on the sea, in honor, in dishonor, in perplexity, in joy, in trial, in triumph, in prayer, in temptation, “till now the LORD has helped us.”

We delight to look down a long avenue of trees. It is delightful to gaze from end to end of the long vista, a sort of verdant temple, with its branching pillars and its arches of leaves. In the same way look down the long aisles of your years at the green branches of mercy overhead and the strong pillars of loving-kindness and faithfulness that support your joys.

Are there no birds singing in those branches? Surely there must be many, and they all sing of mercy received “till now.”

But the word also points forward. For when a man reaches a certain point and writes “till now,” he is not yet at the end; he still has a distance to go. More trials, more joys; more temptations, more triumphs; more prayers, more answers; more toils, more strength; more fights, more victories; and then he faces sickness, old age, disease, death. Is it over then? No! Then there is wakening in Jesus’ likeness, thrones, harps, songs, psalms, white raiment, the face of Jesus, the company of saints, the glory of God, the fullness of eternity, the infinity of bliss. Be of good courage, believer, and with grateful confidence raise your banner, for-

He who hath helped thee hitherto

Will help thee all thy journey through.

When read in light of heaven, how glorious and marvelous a prospect will the “till now” provide for your grateful eye!

The family reading plan for December 29, 2011

2 Chronicles 34 | Revelation 20

Our True Identity
Ephesians 1:3-8 

When I hear a believer announce, “I’m just a sinner,” I feel like saying, “That’s what you used to be.” A lot of folks cling to a view of themselves as a patched-up, slightly-better-than-before version of their old self. The Bible contradicts that opinion: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away, behold, new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17). In fact, according to Scripture, we’re dramatically different once we are complete in Christ.

The question is whether people will trust in what they feel or believe what God says about them. His Word calls us saints (Rom. 1:7), disciples (Matt. 28:19), and fellow heirs with Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:17). If your opinion is that you are “just a sinner,” then you cannot fully experience and enjoy your identity in Christ.

Believing what God says about our new self is a choice. Satan certainly conspires to convince believers that God’s Word doesn’t apply to them. He knows that people held captive by spiritual poverty back away from opportunities to share the gospel and serve the Lord’s kingdom. It’s much easier to spiritually bankrupt someone who already thinks of him- or herself as “just a sinner” than it is to conquer a disciple who knows God is his loving Father.

Our true identity is defined not by our past actions but by the Savior’s. Jesus purchased our lives with His blood and brought us into relationship with God the Father, who adopted us as beloved children. We have every reason to hold our heads high, stand firm, and courageously proclaim the gospe

A Firm and Determined Grasp   –   And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God.

Galatians 2:20

When the Lord in mercy drew near and saw us in our deadness, He first of all said, “Live”; and He did this, first, because life is absolutely essential in spiritual matters, and until it is given we are incapable of seeing or entering the kingdom. Now the life that grace confers upon believers at the moment of their conversion is none other than the life of Christ, which, like the sap from the stem, runs into us, the branches, and establishes a living connection between our souls and Jesus. Faith is the grace that perceives this union, having proceeded from it as its firstfruit. It is the neck that joins the body of the Church to its all-glorious Head.

A faith that shines more bright and clear,

When tempests rage without,

That when in danger knows no fear,

In darkness feels no doubt.

Faith lays hold upon the Lord Jesus with a firm and determined grasp. It knows His excellence and worth, and no temptation can induce faith to place its trust elsewhere. And Christ Jesus is so delighted with this heavenly grace that He never ceases to strengthen and sustain that faith by the loving embrace and all-sufficient support of His eternal arms.

This establishes a living, sensible, and delightful union that produces streams of love, confidence, sympathy, contentment, and joy, from which both the bride and Bridegroom love to drink. When the soul can clearly see this oneness between itself and Christ, the pulse may be felt as beating for both, and the one blood as flowing through the veins of each. Then the heart is as near heaven as it can be on earth and is prepared for the enjoyment of the most sublime and spiritual kind of fellowship.

Lord, give me such a faith as this,

And then, whate’er may come,

I taste e’en now the hallowed bliss,

Of an eternal home.

The family reading plan for December 28, 2011

2 Chronicles 33 | Revelation 19

Who We Are In Christ
1 Peter 1:1-5 

Peter wrote the first of his two epistles to encourage people who were undergoing persecution. The disciple decided that the most natural way to open such a letter was to remind believers of who they are in the Lord.

Believers are chosen in Christ. It’s not that the Lord selects some people to enter heaven and others to go to hell. Rather, the good news of Jesus Christ is offered to everyone (John 3:16; Rom. 1:20). The “elect” are those who receive the Savior through an act of free will. The bottom line is that God wants you. He chose you.

Believers are recipients of mercy. No one can claim that his or her righteous works earned a place in heaven. We are saved through the mercy of Christ (Titus 3:5). God loved us so much that He made a way for us to be in relationship with Him now and forever.

Believers are protected. Psalm 34:7 says, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him.” We are so well guarded that the only way that our lives can be touched by hardship is if God allows it. That doesn’t mean we won’t experience loss or upheaval. Sometimes God permits His children to walk through dark valleys, but always the protective shepherd, He remains at their side (Ps. 23:4).

The message of Peter’s letter is simple: Do not be afraid when you go through trying times. Focus upon who you are in Jesus Christ. You have reason to be bold, assured, and triumphant, because you are a chosen, beloved, and well-guarded child of God

Flourish Even in Drought  –  Can reeds flourish where there is no water?

Job 8:11

The reed is spongy and hollow, and so is a hypocrite; there is no substance or stability in him. It is shaken back and forth in every wind, just as the outwardly religious yield to every influence; for this reason the reed is not broken by the storm, neither are hypocrites called to face persecution. I would not willingly be a deceiver or be deceived; perhaps the text for today may help me to test myself to see whether I am a hypocrite or not.

The reed by nature lives in water and owes its very existence to the mire and moisture in which it has taken root; let the water drain away, and the reed withers very quickly. Its greenness is absolutely dependent upon circumstances; a continuous supply of water makes it flourish, and a drought destroys it at once.

Is this my case? Do I only serve God when I am in good company or when faith is profitable and respectable? Do I love the Lord only when I am enjoying comforts from His hands? If so I am just a hypocrite, and like the withering reed, I will perish when death deprives me of outward joys.

But can I honestly maintain that when there have been few bodily comforts, and my surroundings have been adverse to grace rather than at all helpful to it, I have still maintained my integrity? Then I have hope that there is genuine vital godliness in me.

The reed cannot grow without water, but the Lord’s plants can and do flourish even when there is a drought. A godly man often grows best when his worldly circumstances are daunting. He who follows Christ for money is a Judas; those who follow for loaves and fishes are children of the devil; but those who stay close out of love to Himself are His own beloved ones. Lord, let me find my life in You, and not in the shifting sands of this world’s favor or gain.

The family reading plan for December 27, 2011

2 Chronicles 32 | Revelation 18

The Holy Spirit—God in Us
John 16:7-15 

God’s presence with mankind has become progressively more intimate—from a cloud of glory in the temple, to the incarnate Son of God living with men, and now to the indwelling presence of His Spirit within the hearts of Christians. That’s why Jesus said it was better for us if He went away so that the Helper could come.

While on earth, Christ was limited by His humanity. He could be in only one place at a time. But after His ascension, the Holy Spirit came to live within His followers, imparting divine wisdom, insight, and power. If you want to see the difference this made, just compare the disciples’ lives before and after Pentecost. They were transformed from fearful men hiding in a locked room to bold preachers ready to suffer for the gospel of Christ.

The Lord wants to do more than just live among men in the person of His Son; He desires to accomplish His will in our lives. But without His supernatural indwelling presence, we can never become the people He wants us to be or accomplish the tasks He’s called us to do. Through His Spirit, Christ lives His life in us, producing His fruit and empowering His work. If we really believed this, we would live like the victorious children of God that we are.

If you are a believer, think about the amazing opportunity and blessing that is yours: even when you feel helpless to change or inadequate for a task, God’s power resides within you. No challenge is insurmountable, because the Holy Spirit is greater than any obstacle you’ll ever face

The Sponsor and Substitute – The last Adam.

1 Corinthians 15:45

Jesus is the representative head of His people. In Adam every heir of flesh and blood has a personal interest, because he is the covenant head and representative of the race when considered under the law of works; so under the law of grace, every redeemed soul is one with the Lord from heaven, since He is the Second Adam, the Sponsor and Substitute of the elect in the new covenant of love.

The apostle Paul declares that Levi was in the loins of Abraham when Melchizedek met him: It is a certain truth that the believer was in the loins of Jesus Christ, the Mediator, when in eternity the covenant settlements of grace were decreed, ratified, and made sure forever.

Whatever Christ has done, He has accomplished for the whole body of His Church. We were crucified in Him and buried with Him (read Col. 2:10-13), and to make it still more wonderful, we are risen with Him and even ascended with Him to the seats on high (Eph. 2:6). It is in this way that the Church has fulfilled the law and is “blessed in the Beloved.”1

She is regarded with satisfaction by the just Jehovah, for He views her in Jesus, and does not look upon her as separate from her covenant head. As the Anointed Redeemer of Israel, Christ Jesus has nothing distinct from His Church, but all that He has He holds for her. Adam’s righteousness was ours so long as he maintained it, and his sin was ours the moment that he committed it; and in the same way, all that the Second Adam is or does is ours as well as His because He is our representative.

Here is the foundation of the covenant of grace. This gracious system of representation and substitution, which moved Justin Martyr to cry out, “O blessed change, O sweet permutation!” is the very groundwork of the Gospel of our salvation and is to be received with strong faith and rapturous joy.

1 Ephesians 1:6

The family reading plan for December 26, 2011

2 Chronicles 31 | Revelation 17

Immanuel—God with Us
Matthew 1:18-25 

Throughout ancient human history, heaven was God’s dwelling place, and except for a few personal encounters (as with Abraham, Hagar, and Jacob), He seemed far away to most people. Then He came to be in the Israelites’ midst, first in a pillar of cloud and fire, then in the tabernacle and temple. But now, He was about to do something totally new. His presence would be with them in the form of God’s Son, a man who’d literally live among them.

Even before Jesus was born on earth, He was given two names, which both indicated His identity and ministry. Immanuel tells us who He is—”God with us.” Christ took on human flesh while retaining undiminished deity and became the perfect God-Man. He lived on earth, walked among men, and suffered the weaknesses of humanity. Yet He also displayed the power of Almighty God as He healed the sick, cast out demons, calmed the sea, and raised the dead.

Jesus means “The Lord is salvation,” which describes what He came to do—to save us from the bondage of sin through His death on our behalf. This explains why He had to become Immanuel. Since the Father is immortal and cannot die, His Son had to take on a human body in order to offer Himself as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of mankind.

But what do these two names of Christ mean for you today? Through the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, Jesus still lives with you and has the power to deliver you from the grip of any bondage. No sinful habit, painful past, or present struggle is too difficult for the God-Man to overcome

He Became Poor  –  For your sake he became poor.

2 Corinthians 8:9

The Lord Jesus Christ was eternally rich, glorious, and exalted; but “though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor.” As the wealthy believer cannot be true in his fellowship with his poor brethren unless from his wealth he ministers to their needs, so (the same rule holding with the head as between the members) it is impossible that our Divine Lord could have had fellowship with us unless He had given to us from His own abounding wealth and had become poor so as to make us rich.

If He had remained upon His throne of glory, and we had continued in the ruins of the Fall without receiving His salvation, fellowship would have been impossible on both sides. Our position by the Fall, apart from the covenant of grace, made it as impossible for fallen man to communicate with God as it is for Satan to be in communion with Christ. In order, therefore, that communion might be enjoyed, it was necessary for the rich relative to bestow his estate upon his poor relatives, for the righteous Savior to give to His sinning brethren from His own perfection, and for we, the poor and guilty, to receive of His fullness grace for grace, so that in giving and receiving, the One might descend from the heights, and the other ascend from the depths, and in this way be able to embrace each other in true and hearty fellowship.

Poverty must be enriched by Him in whom are infinite treasures before it can begin to commune; and guilt must lose itself in imputed and imparted righteousness before the soul can walk in fellowship with purity. Jesus must clothe His people in His own garments or He cannot admit them into His palace of glory; and He must wash them in His own blood or else they will be too defiled for the embrace of His fellowship.

Believer, herein is love! For your sake the Lord Jesus “became poor” that He might lift you up into communion with Himself.

The family reading plan for December 24, 2011

2 Chronicles 29 | Revelation 15

What’s in a Name?
Exodus 3:13-15 

Today, most people choose names for children based on their preferences, but in ancient times, a name characterized the person. When God identified Himself to Moses, He said, “I AM WHO I AM.” This may seem like a strange name to us, but in reality, it’s the most effective way to describe someone who is completely self-existent. In essence, He’s saying, “From eternity past through the present and into eternity future, I AM.” We know this rendering of God’s name as Jehovah or Yahweh. In most versions of the Bible, it is usually translated as “Lord” in capital letters.

Throughout Jewish history, God’s name was associated with His presence. When He led the children of Israel through the wilderness, He went with them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Ex. 13:21). After they built the tabernacle, He met with Moses above the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant (25:22). God gave the Israelites visible, physical symbols to remind them of His everlasting presence with them.

When Joshua finally led the people into the Promised Land, the Lord gave him two promises: “I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you” and “The Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Josh. 1:5, 9).

What a great assurance to know that God will never leave His children, and nothing touches a believer without first touching Him. Our Father goes ahead of you and me to prepare the way and walks with us through every situation. Strive to be aware of His presence, and you will know peace

Seeing Face to Face  –  Friend, move up higher.

Luke 14:10

When the life of grace first begins in the soul, we instinctively draw near to God, but it is with great fear and trembling. The soul, conscious of guilt and humbled by it, is overawed with the solemnity of its position; it is prostrated by a sense of the grandeur of God, in whose presence it appears.

With sincere humility it takes the lowest room. But later on, as the Christian grows in grace, although he will never forget the solemnity of his position and will never lose that holy awe that must encompass a gracious man when he is in the presence of the God who can create or destroy, yet his fear has all its terror taken out of it; it becomes a holy reverence, and no longer an overshadowing dread.

He is called up higher, to greater access to God in Christ Jesus. Then the man of God, walking among the splendors of Deity and veiling his face like the glorious cherubim with those twin wings, the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, will, reverent and bowed in spirit, approach the throne; and seeing there a God of love, goodness, and mercy he will realize the covenant character of God rather than His absolute Deity.

He will see in God His goodness rather than His greatness, and more of His love than of His majesty. Then the soul will bow just as humbly as before and enjoy a more sacred liberty of intercession; for while prostrate before the glory of the Infinite God, it will be sustained by the refreshing awareness of being in the presence of unlimited mercy and infinite love and by the realization of acceptance “in the Beloved.”1 In this way the believer is invited to come up higher and is enabled to exercise the privilege of rejoicing in God and drawing near to Him in holy confidence, crying, “Abba, Father.”

So may we go from strength to strength,

And daily grow in grace,

Till in Thy image raised at length,

We see Thee face to face.

1 Ephesians 1:6

The family reading plan for December 23, 2011

2 Chronicles 27 , 28 | Revelation 14